The claimed inventions relate generally to ornamentation for burial caskets and coffins, and more particularly to casket drape articles incorporating a message suitable for display on a casket and further suitable for retaining as a memorial keepsake of a deceased person.
Memorial services and ceremonies for deceased persons are as old as humanity itself. After a person has passed away, his friends, family and acquaintances may meet together to remember the individual, console one another and bid a final farewell to the departed. In common practice before burial, a viewing may be held to offer a final opportunity to look upon the deceased, usually followed by a graveside service. In both, the casket of an individual is displayed as a focal point in memorial services, with floral displays of well-wishers presented nearby. In some services, particularly if the deceased was a member of a state, a flag may be displayed over the casket, which may later be presented to a family member as a token of the deceased's services to his country.
Following most services, very little is left to take home in the way of objects of remembrance of the deceased. In most cases, the decorations and memorabilia of the services are disposable and/or perishable, with a few minor exceptions in the way of cards, programs and perhaps a guest book. Indeed, an inherent purpose is to leave little reminder of the deceased, perhaps with the purpose of minimizing the grief of loved-ones. Some, however, would prefer to retain objects of remembrance, for example in honor of the deceased. When a loved-one dies, a person may consider the deceased in a new light, and more fully understand and appreciate that person's character and beneficial acts of her life. A loved-one may wish to more frequently remember the deceased as an act of gratitude, or to make the deceased an exemplar of his own life.
Objects of remembrance may be especially scarce if the deceased was a victim of an accident or disaster, or was a traveller, soldier, prisoner or impoverished. Under such circumstances, survivors may wish to create objects of the deceased which they can later possess and treasure in remembrance of the deceased.